Systematic Review: Palliative Care Screening Tools for Nursing Home Residents

Palliative care in nursing homes can improve quality of life and increase patient/family satisfaction while decreasing symptoms and healthcare costs. Despite these positive outcomes, nursing home residents are not receiving palliative care services equivalent to the high prevalence of chronic life-limiting disease. A key barrier to palliative care delivery in nursing homes is the lack of a ‘gold standard’ to identify residents with unmet palliative care needs. There is no synthesis of studies regarding this topic.